Fort Shannon (Ireland)

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Fort Shannon was a coastal artillery site at Ardmore Point, west of Tarbert in County Kerry, Ireland, overlooking the Shannon Estuary. It had two 6-inch guns, pillboxes and searchlight placements. Built during The Emergency, construction began in August 1942 after Churchill approved the project in December 1941 to defend against a possible invasion by Britain or Nazi Germany. The installation was designed to be largely hidden from the sea, so ships wouldn’t see the guns until they were near Scattery Island. It was manned by an Irish Army coastal defence unit and even had a Gaelic football team in the North Kerry Championship. Fort Shannon was evacuated on 31 May 1946 and the guns were removed later. Today only a few concrete structures remain on the 0.81-acre site, which is owned by the Department of Defence.